Slayers: Fatherland
by Davner
Summary: A thousand years after the death of Lina Inverse, an ancient Mazoku prophecy is about to come to pass, and only a lone sorcery student stands in its way.
1. The Dark Curtain Falls

  
  
DAVENTRY: In the time of the Third Age of Mankind, the Mazoku, Xellos, appeared   
before a Fire Dragon priestess…in a vision…  
  
FILIA: BAKA NAMAGOMI!!! *WHAP!!*  
  
XELLOS: ITAI!!!  
  
DAVENTRY: His words are recorded in the Diary of Filia Ul Copt…  
  
XELLOS: There will come a time when one who has the heart of a Mazoku…but not   
Mazoku born…shall rain Nightmare's fire down upon us…and the Reichsvarrin…a time of   
great darkness…shall embrace the world…  
  
  
  
Lina Inverse ducked another blast of dark energy and braced for the explosion that   
was sure to follow. She wasn't disappointed, and the earth beneath her rumbled. Looking   
to her right, she saw Gourry and Amelia crouched behind a boulder just as she was. To   
her left, Sylphiel was leaning over Zelgadis, concentrating on a healing spell. The   
chimera's unconscious state and the small dribble of blood seeping from his lips was the   
only hint that he had been struck dead in the chest by a blast from a black dragon only a   
minute before.  
  
"Lina!" Gourry shouted to her, his sword was unsheathed, but he was unsure what   
he could do with it against such a large and wild opponent. "What do we do?!"  
  
Before Lina could reply, another blast of dark laser breath crisped the air between   
them. A roar shook the air around them. Lina saw Sylphiel repeating the healing spell   
over Zelgadis' body again, a tear running down her cheek as he started to slip away.  
  
Lina grit her teeth and stood up. "Gourry, Amelia, take Sylphiel and Zelgadis and   
move back." She stepped out before the black dragon.  
  
"LINA!" Gourry shouted.  
  
"Miss Lina! You can't!" Amelia agreed.  
  
Lina ignored them and started walking towards the beast, chanting with each step   
she took. This wasn't just some run of the mill dragon. This was Ancalagon the Black.   
Three times the size as any other black dragon she had ever seen, and six times as cruel.   
  
"…In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness…"  
  
  
XELLOS: Death himself shall walk with the human race…His army outnumbering the stars   
themselves…  
  
  
Ancalagon hissed at her as she approached, not sure what to make of the little   
firefly that had decided to challenge it.   
  
Lina threw a look over her shoulder and saw Gourry helping Sylphiel drag   
Zelgadis away from the battle zone. Amelia was hesitant to leave.  
  
"…May all the fools who stand in our way be destroyed…"  
  
Ancalagon seemed to realize that Lina was up to something. Black energy began to   
coalesce in his mouth as he prepared a laser breath spell.  
  
"…By the power you and I possess!" Lina raised her hands before her and took   
aim. She was less than a hundred feet from the dragon, which was now aiming at her.  
  
Ancalagon the Black roared and fired!  
  
"DRAGON SLAVE!!!"   
  
  
XELLOS: Their numbers shall leave the world barren and crush the breath from your   
dragon clans…  
  
  
Hellfire shot from Lina's hands just as the laser breath reached her, the two spells   
combining in a bright flash of magic light, whiter than even the sun's powerful rays. Lina   
flinched away as the energy from the two spells merged right in front of her.  
  
Then the explosion hit.  
  
  
XELLOS: The Mazoku shall choke on their own blood…and only corpses shall be left for   
them to feed upon…  
  
  
Farther away, Gourry, Amelia, and Sylphiel, still dragging the wounded Zelgadis,   
were thrown forward by the shockwave. They stayed on the ground, covering their ears as   
the world seemed to fall down around them. Rocks and debris were thrown everywhere   
faster than bullets. Gourry crawled on top of the screaming Sylphiel, protecting her from   
the wave. Amelia had put the stone skinned Zelgadis between her and the blast zone and   
held on tight.  
  
After what seemed like hours, the explosion subsided. Amelia raised her head and   
blinked. Her entire body was covered in ash and dust. She coughed dryly, trying to expel   
dirt and debris from her lungs. She stood up and was surprised to see that she was still in   
one piece, as were the others.  
  
She blinked suddenly.  
  
"Miss Lina!" she gasped. She ran forward, back towards the where the center of   
the explosion had been. She crested a hill and looked down.  
  
Where Miss Lina had been, there was now a large crater almost a hundred yards   
wide.  
  
There was nothing in it.  
  
"Miss Lina?" Amelia whispered. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "MISS   
LINA!!" She heard Gourry walking up behind her but didn't wait. The princess climbed   
down into the crater. "MISS LINA!! ANSWER ME! MISS LINA!"  
  
"LINA!" she heard Gourry call out. "OI, LINA!!"  
  
Amelia stood in the center of the crater and turned back to Gourry. There was   
nothing left. Nothing. The blond swordsman looked at her as horrified realization crept   
into his face.   
  
Nothing left at all.  
  
Tears welled up in Amelia's eyes, and she fell to her knees. "Miss Lina," she   
whispered. "Miss Lina…"  
  
Gourry's fists clenched, his eyes shut, and his teeth were gritted in pain.  
  
"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
XELLOS: With a resounding thunderclap…the dark curtain shall fall…  
  
  
Slayers: Fatherland  
Chapter 1  
The Dark Curtain Falls  
  
  
The Fourth Age of Man  
1,000 Years Later  
  
  
  
Slender fingers searched from one book to the next, quickly, hurriedly, and all too   
aware that if those fingers were caught rifling through these books, it would mean extra   
chores for Fish Espe.  
  
"C'mon, c'mon," the young mage grumbled under her breath. "I know he has it here.   
Ah!" Triumphant, the girl, no more than seventeen, pulled a red leather bound book from   
the shelf and started leafing through it.   
  
Surely the spell she had been seeking for three years would be in here…  
  
"Bells…Barley…Barter…" she read, searching down the list. She smiled.   
"Breasts. Augmentation and enlargement! This spell was first pioneered by Sorceress   
Gracia Wil Naga Sey and…" She broke off when withered hands suddenly reached out   
and grabbed the book from over her shoulder.   
  
"Extra work, young Espe?"  
  
Fish squeaked and turned suddenly. "Master Daventry!" She looked from side to   
side, her hand going up to her head and running through the short, red hair on her head as   
she searched her mind desperately for a good story. "I was…cleaning your laboratory, not   
that you ordered me to, I just thought it would be nice, and all of a sudden, this book just   
falls from the shelf onto the floor! Well, you always told me that there's no such thing as   
coincidence, so I thought it must be fate telling me to take a look and…"  
  
"Fish…Shut up."  
  
"Yes, Master." Fish sighed and waited for the elderly sorcerer to detail a   
punishment for her.  
  
"You know you're not supposed to be trying any of these spells," Daventry   
reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, I know…" She sighed at the reminder.  
  
The older man pulled on his graying beard as he thought. Finally, he took a breath   
and began. "It's awfully warm out today. The children in town could use a break, don't you   
think?"  
  
(Aw, shit,) Fish thought to herself.  
  
"Therefore, as your punishment, you will make ice today, set up a little table near   
the playground, and make snowcones for the children there…For free," he added.  
  
Fish turned pale. "FREE?! C'mon, Master Daventry! The fruit juice is expensive   
and…well….FREE!? THE MERCHANT'S BLOOD IN MY VEINS WILL NEVER   
ALLOW IT!"  
  
"Yes, well, the merchant's blood in your veins should've thought of that beforehand.   
Off you go." He stood to one side and gestured towards the door.  
  
The sorceress in training grumbled as she stalked off. Snow cones…Feh!   
Children…FEH! She hated children. All they ever did was eat and be loud…  
  
She grabbed the necessary supplies and was soon dragging a folding table down the   
Atlas City street. It was busy this time of day, and as she stepped off the curb to cross a   
street, a car zipped past, nearly hitting her. She eep'd and dropped her table, jumping back   
and shaking her fist at the car.  
  
"ASSHOLE!"  
  
Picking up the table again, she started across the street. She heard a familiar voice   
on the other side and blinked. "Hey, Will!" she cried. "How about a hand!?"  
  
A boy about her age looked up and saw her predicament, putting down his sack of   
newspapers and rushing into the street to help. With the boy's help, it didn't take long to get   
the table to the others side of the street.  
  
"Thanks, Will," she said as the sandy-haired boy picked up his newspapers again.   
  
"No problem." He smiled. "Where are you going, anyway?"  
  
"The school. Old man Daventry caught me looking through his books again. Now I   
have to spend the day selling snowcones."  
  
"Bummer. Beats papers, though."  
  
"I guess." She looked down and saw the headline.  
  
"SEYRUUN INVADES XOANA!"  
  
"Wow," she said quietly. "I hadn't heard about that yet. That's only a stone's throw   
from us."  
  
"That's nothing," Will told her. "I hear the Reich Chancellor ordered Zephilia to   
allow Seyruun to cross their territory so they can flank Xoana. The king of Zephilia told   
him to fuck off, so now Seyruun's bombing them in retaliation."  
  
Fish bit her bottom lip. "You think they're coming here?" she asked.  
  
"Atlas has a treaty with Seyruun," the paperboy reminded her. "Then again," he   
went on darkly, "They had a treaty with Xoana too…"  
  
The sorceress took a breath and smiled. "Well, it's none of my business, right?"   
she asked. "I have to go make snowcones…Cepheid damn old codger…"  
  
Will laughed. "Bye, Fish!" As the girl continued dragging her table down the   
sidewalk, the boy continued to hock his papers. "READ ALL ABOUT IT!! SEYRUUN   
INVADES XOANA! REICH CHANCELLOR ORDERS XOANA SURRENDERS!"  
  
  
  
The sun was going down as Fish pulled the folding table back up the steps towards   
the Master's house. She continued to grumble. Those freak'n kids had homed in on her in   
seconds… It was awful. Her wonderful magic talents wasted making frost for those little   
goblins…  
  
She gave one last pull as she approached the front door. All that was left to do was   
drop off the Master's table, and it would be done. Fish gave the door a slight push, but   
paused when she heard voices from inside. She strained to listen.  
  
"We can't sit around and do nothing, Ty," an elderly woman was saying. Fish   
blinked. That was the Master's first name.   
  
"We've heard stories," another man said. "From inside the conquered territories   
and from Seyruun itself. Stories about magic users being deemed a danger to the state and   
just disappearing."  
  
"My sister lived in Namor," another woman spoke up. "She was a healer   
priestess, but I haven't heard from her since Seyruun annexed Namor three months ago."  
  
"And what do you suggest we do?" Daventry asked. "We four against the Reich?"  
  
"There has to be something we can do!" the first woman persisted. "I can't believe   
that sorcerers have become so impotent over the centuries that we would allow such…such   
things as these rumors claim to happen!"  
  
"I'm not arguing with you," Daventry told her. "My question is a valid one, and still   
is unanswered. What do you suggest we do?"  
  
"What about the dragons?" the man asked. "Perhaps they can help."  
  
The first woman sighed again. "I thought of that. I have been in correspondence   
with the Lady Sethra of the Golden Dragons."  
  
"And?"  
  
"She says that…that the war on the continent is the human's concern. It does not   
affect them, and they will make no effort to affect it."  
  
"So what DO we do?" the young woman asked.  
  
Daventry answered. "We sleep. You are all welcome to stay here as long as you   
wish. We can pick up this conversation in the morning when we're rested."  
  
Fish backed away as the meeting began to break up. She didn't want to disturb them   
in the middle of something important. Hell, she was in enough trouble as it was. The   
sorceress decided to just leave the table on the porch and go home.   
  
Before she could make her getaway, however, the door opened, and the Master   
stepped out. "Ah! Fish! How was your day?"  
  
"Kids suck, Sir," she said without preamble.  
  
"Indeed they do," he agreed. "That's why it's a punishment."  
  
Her eyebrow twitched.   
  
"Come, young Espe. Let's go for a walk."  
  
Fish sighed and fell into step next to her teacher. The Master liked to take walks in   
the evening, and occasionally dragged his hapless student with him, boring her to death   
with lectures about how to take her magic further.  
  
Feh! As if SHE needed help on how to do that! She was only seventeen and   
already making up spells as she went! Okay, so often they didn't work…okay, ninety-nine   
percent didn't work…But those that did kicked so much ass, it was unreal!  
  
Still, he was the master and she was the student. Blah, blah, blah, blah, freak'n   
blah!  
  
Tonight was different, however. He was silent as he walked. She threw a few   
glances in his direction. "Master? Is everything all right?'  
  
He took a breath. "Fish, there will be times in your life when you're going to have   
to let go of the comforts of your life and make a drastic change for the worse…on   
purpose."  
  
"Feh! Bag that!" She rolled her eyes.  
  
He smiled. "You don't get it now, but one day you will." He walked a little   
further, up to the shore of the lake that sat on his property. "Did I ever tell you the story   
about this lake, Fish?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," she said. "You once caught a fish, THIS BIG…" She held her arms   
wide apart.  
  
He laughed. "No, I mean how the lake was formed."  
  
"Nope. Never heard that one."  
  
"It's kind of what I was talking about earlier. You see, young Espe, this lake is   
actually a crater…and was formed when Lina Inverse fought her last battle against   
Ancalagon the Black."  
  
Fish blinked and looked out at the lake. Lina Inverse? The Sixth Wiseman of the   
Third Age? She had died HERE?  
  
She must have said this out loud because the Master was nodding. "One thousand   
years ago tomorrow, as a matter of fact." He turned to her. "Lina Inverse was probably the   
greatest sorceress who ever lived, Fish."  
  
"Oh, I know!" the young girl told him. "I remember reading about her when I was   
younger. She's the one who inspired me to learn magic. I always wanted to learn how to   
Demon Enslave someone like she did!"  
  
The Master smiled. "That kind of power was lost long ago. Sorcery is not what it   
used to be, Fish. A thousand years ago, the same kind of spell you were using to make   
snowcones could've been used to fire icicle arrows at goblins. Simple fire starting spells   
were explosive weapons."  
  
"So what changed?"  
  
"People changed, Fish," he told her. "Sorcerers stopped using that kind of magic   
to help people, and instead used it for their own purposes. After awhile, kingdoms began   
outlawing the teaching of black magic. After so many years of forced ignorance…we lost   
those abilities."  
  
"Bummer."  
  
"Yes," he sighed. "But in its place white magic flourished. Diseases and injuries   
that could not be healed a thousand years ago are nothing now."  
  
"So what's the connection to Lina Inverse?"  
  
He smiled. "Lina Inverse died while her friends were dragging one of her closest   
compatriots to safety. Self sacrifice, Fish."  
  
She looked out at the water, at Lina Inverse's tomb.  
  
She KNEW there weren't any fish in this damn lake. What a freak'n liar…  
  
  
  
Fish sighed as she wrote out the incantation for a fire starting spell for the one   
hundredth time. Even with a war on, the Master insisted that she learn the old fashioned   
way. Memorization.  
  
A week had passed since the old fogies visiting the Master had left. Xoana had   
fallen three days after that. Zephilia was still holding out, and many of the people in Atlas   
cheered them on. There was some talk of Atlas actually sending military aid, but that was   
shouted down early on. No one in Atlas wanted the wrath of the Seyruun Reich to fall on   
them.  
  
The Master was sitting in his rocking chair near the window, listening to the radio.   
And of course, being the dinosaur that he was, he couldn't DARE listen to anything written   
less than fifty years ago, something that SHE might like! NOOOO!  
  
"Fish, how many times have you copied that spell?"  
  
She grinned and looked up. "One hundred exactly! All done!"  
  
"One hundred! Excellent! Twenty more and you can have lunch."  
  
"But you said I only had to write it one hundred times!" she accused him hotly.  
  
"Yes! What a horrible teacher I must be! Go on."  
  
She growled and started writing again. "You know, I bet Lina Inverse didn't have   
to learn magic this way!"  
  
"Quite right," the Master told her. "If I recall my history correctly, Lina's sister,   
Luna, taught her her first magic spells…"  
  
"See?! Hands on shit!"  
  
"And when Lina got them wrong, Luna would beat her with a bamboo stick."  
  
"……..I hate you."  
  
He smiled. "Excellent."  
  
"I still say…"  
  
"Shh!"  
  
"But…"  
  
"Hush!" he ordered, turning up the volume on the small radio.  
  
"…Repeating this special report, the Atlas government has just informed this   
station that Seyruun tanks have crossed the border from Xoana and have engaged Atlas   
Army installations near Gest. Reports coming in suggest that anywhere between two and   
five Panzer divisions have crossed our borders, and that the AA, while fighting bravely, IS   
in retreat."  
  
Fish looked up, a knot of cold fear in her stomach. "The…They're coming this   
way?"  
  
The Master continued to listen.   
  
"…And…As I report this, my producer is telling me that he can see planes flying   
over Atlas City, the Star of Seyruun emblazoned on their wings." Soft thuds could be heard   
over the radio. "And it's true! It's true! I can hear it now! The air raid sirens are going off   
right now! Atlas City is being bombed! Please stay tuned to this station! Emergency   
broadcasts will continue un…"  
  
Suddenly, there was static.  
  
Fish swallowed fearfully. She had heard all about Seyruun's lightning raid attacks,   
their "Blitzes." If they stayed true to form, Atlas City would fall in a matter of days if not   
hours! She looked up at the Master in bald faced fear.  
  
"Master?" she asked.  
  
"Fish, come with me," he told her. Walking towards the back of the house where   
he kept the library.   
  
"Where are we going?" she asked quickly. She didn't like to admit it, but she was   
scared right now. Very scared.  
  
"Fish, pull yourself together," he ordered. "It'll take time for them to secure the   
city. That's where they'll concentrate their attacks." He started pulling books off his   
shelves and handing them to her. "Put these in your satchel. Then go to the kitchen and   
grab as many canned goods as you can and take them with you."  
  
"With me where?!" she asked. "What are you talking about?!"  
  
He took her by the shoulders. "Fish, I want you to take these books and as many   
supplies as you can carry and go into the forest, up into the mountains. You'll be safe there   
until this blows over."  
  
"Me?! What about you?!"  
  
He smiled. "I'm a little old to be traipsing through the woods, Fish." His smile   
fell. "Besides…I'm quite sure I'm on one of their lists. If they come here and find the   
house empty, they'll search."  
  
"Now wait a second!" she cried. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here!"  
  
"Fish Espe!" his voice barked. "I am still your Master, and you WILL obey my   
instructions!" Fish went silent. She swallowed nervously. "These books," he explained in   
a softer tone of voice, "Are one of a kind spell books. There are no others like them in the   
world. If the Reich gets them, they'll burn them. You have to protect them until this is   
over." Fish took a breath. "Do you understand?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Then start packing up. Quick now," he prompted. Fish turned to her assigned   
tasks.   
  
As she packed her small duffel bag, she paused as the soft thuds of distant   
explosions were heard.  
  
It was her business now.  
  
  
  
Fish tossed the empty tin can into her small campfire and grimaced. If she had to   
eat ONE MORE canned sardine, she'd scream. Despite her name, she wasn't a big fan of   
seafood, especially when that seafood was disgusting and oily and raw and…  
  
Blech!  
  
Searching through her supplies, she sighed. It appeared that she wouldn't have to   
worry about eating more sardines. She had just eaten the last one. Looking around her tiny   
campsite in the nearby Atlas mountain range, she took stock of her situation.   
  
Three weeks up in the mountains hadn't done much for her appetite. She was also   
cold, lonely, and scared. Fish had expected the Master to come up looking for her, tell her   
that it was all over and that she could come home, but here it was, week three, and still   
nothing. She was out of food and out of ideas.  
  
"I guess I'll have to go down and see things for myself," she whispered.   
  
She took the books Master Daventry had given to her and hid them in the hollow of   
an old tree near her camp, secure inside a leather satchel. Then, gathering up what resolve   
she had left, she started down the mountain towards home.   
  
Master Daventry's house was on the outskirts of Atlas City, between the city and   
the mountain range, so naturally Fish checked there first. She knocked on the door, but no   
one answered. Biting her bottom lip, she came to a decision and stood back, raising her   
arms in the air.  
  
"Oh great….um….door gods!" she cried. "…Whoever…you   
might…um…be…..Open this door that blocks my path! I COMMAND IT!!   
SUPERDOOROPENINGSPELLNUMBERTHREE!!!" She pointed her hands at the door.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Her eyebrow twitched. Super Door Opening Spell Number Three had shown   
promise when she had first created it…Of course, the spell often required simultaneous   
kicks and thrown bricks before the door would actually open.   
  
On a hunch she reached out and turned the knob. The door swung open. Fish   
preened.  
  
"Super Door Opening Spell Number Three strikes again!" She walked inside and   
started looking around. A part of her had expected the place to be ransacked, but   
everything seemed to be peaceful. "Master?" she called out. "Are you here?"  
  
She wandered slowly through the house, feeling like she was in a suspense novel   
where the heroine wanders into a dark room just like she was doing right now and was   
suddenly set upon by an attacker…  
  
Something screeched from her right, and she screamed, running back into the living   
room. Looking back, she saw a black and white housecat walk in after her.  
  
"CALLISTO!" she screamed in chastisement. "You damn stupid cat!"  
  
The Master's housecat replied by sitting down and cleaning himself.   
  
Fish growled, then paused. If Callisto was still here and healthy, then that meant he   
was being fed, and THAT meant that the Master was still around!  
  
She growled again. And THAT meant he had been yanking her chain. He probably   
sent her up into the mountains as some kind of exercise…  
  
"Jerk-off," she muttered.   
  
Behind her, the door squeaked. She turned suddenly and saw Will standing in the   
doorway.  
  
"Fish?!"  
  
"Will!"  
  
He walked up to her and put down a paper bag he had been carrying. "What are   
you doing here?!" he hissed. "Mister Daventry said you had left! That you went to   
Zephilia!"  
  
She blinked. "I did not! He had me go up into the mountains and hide some of his   
shit! Where is he, anyway?!"  
  
Will just blinked. "Fish…they took him. Almost two weeks ago."  
  
"Whaddya mean?!" she cried. "Who 'took him?!'"  
  
The sandy-haired boy took her by the shoulders and sat her down on the couch. He   
looked frightened and motioned for her remain quiet, as if the walls themselves had ears.   
  
"The Reichstaffel," he hissed.   
  
"What?!"  
  
He nodded. "A couple of days after they came in, they started rounding up the local   
mages. Healers, fortune tellers, stuff like that. Said they were a threat to the purity of the   
state."  
  
"And they just LET them do this?!" Fish asked in amazement.  
  
"Hey, Fish!" Will cried defensively. "You try living with soldiers walking the   
streets and panzers rolling down Main Street, and see how quick YOU are to do   
something!"  
  
"Jeez, I'm sorry," she growled. "So what does this have to do with the Master?"  
  
"I guess it took longer for them to get to him, but they did. They RS came and took   
him. Him and all the books out of his library."  
  
"Took him where?"  
  
"They have some kind of camp at the south end of the city."  
  
"Define, 'camp,'" she said.   
  
"Just some fence and some tents," Will told her. "Lots of RS guys."  
  
Fish blinked. "Hey, what are YOU doing here, anyway?"   
  
He smiled sheepishly. "Mister Daventry asked me to feed Callisto."  
  
"So you spoke to him?"  
  
He nodded. "I went down there with a friend who was looking for her father.   
Mister Daventry saw me and asked me to help with the cat. I asked him where you were,   
and he said Zephilia." He blinked. "But why would he tell me that if you were really in   
the mountains?"  
  
Fish took a breath. "In case the RS ever asked you where I was," she answered.   
She stood up. "Take me to him."  
  
Will looked uncomfortable. "Fish, that was a couple of weeks ago, and even then   
he didn't look too good. Security might be better. We just got a new territorial governor   
and…"  
  
"Will," she interrupted. "I'm going to go see Master Daventry. If you're too   
chickenshit to go with me, fine, but don't make up some bullshit excuse!"  
  
"I'm not!" Will barked defensively, rising to his feet. "Things are different now,   
Fish! They don't NEED a reason to arrest you and throw you in there! Peope DIE in   
there!"  
  
"Are you going to take me or not?" she asked.  
  
"No!" he cried. "No fucking way!" He turned away from her. "Dammit,   
Fish…I…I've seen that place."  
  
"Say it! You're scared!"  
  
"You're damn right I'm scared!" he shouted back. "Look, I'm here to feed Mister   
Daventry's cat! If you wanna go fuck with the Seyruuns, that's your problem!"   
  
Fish looked at him in rage while tried to be nonchalant as he filled Callisto's bowl   
with food from the paper bag he had brought with him.  
  
"FUCK YOU!" she screamed and stormed out of the house. She wiped a tear   
away as she marched down the street.   
  
(Fucking asshole!) she thought. (Well, fine! I'll do this on my own! I don't need   
that chickenshit's help!)  
  
  
  
Fish watched in awe as a Seyruun panzer rolled down the street in front of her.   
Bombed out shells of buildings were still being cleaned up in Atlas City. Aside from these   
changes, however, people seemed to be going about their business. Even so, the tension   
could be cut with a knife.  
  
She crossed the street, making her way towards the south end of town. The   
sorceress had managed to get directions from a shop keep who seemed reluctant to talk   
about it. Why shouldn't they talk about it?! How were things ever going to change unless   
people talked about it?!  
  
It didn't take very long to find it. She looked down at the fenced-in yard that was   
once part of a high school soccer field and gulped. Make-shift guard towers stood at each   
corner. The yard was double fenced topped with razor wire, leaving a path for guards to   
patrol in between the two perimeter fences. And there WERE guards, armed with rifles   
and dogs.   
  
Inside the fences were hastily-thrown-together huts and tents. Some people were   
milling about. The sun was going down, so she figured most of the people were inside   
their 'homes.'  
  
Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she decided to turn back. She   
just couldn't take the sight. It frightened her an almost primal level.  
  
Ironically, it was a Seyruun soldier who kept her from fleeing.  
  
"Hey! Girlie!"  
  
She tensed. Were they going to arrest her? She turned and tried to look nonchalant.   
"Um…Yes?"  
  
A young soldier walked up to her, smiling. "Hallos," he said in a bad form of her   
own language. Seyruun had gone through a cultural change over the centuries as more and   
more immigrants from southern territories had entered the kingdom after the Mazoku   
barrier fell. For a while, it seemed that the kingdom had been facing a catastrophe as the   
two cultures clashed, but then, things stabilized, and the two cultures fused. Even the   
languages mixed together. While most Seyruuns could speak the language used by the rest   
of the continent, many had their own form of speech mixing that language and the language   
of the southern barbarians. It had done nothing but help isolate Seyruun even more…  
  
"Um…Hello," Fish said, trying to sound friendly and innocent and nonthreatening.  
  
He smiled. "You're pretty," he said. "You should'n be hare. Dangerous."  
  
An idea formed, and she batted her eyes at the soldier. "I'm sorry, but I'm looking   
for my uncle. They told me he was in there." She pointed at the encampment.  
  
"In there?" he asked with a smile.   
  
"Yes," she said sadly. "But I don't know how to find him."  
  
"You come," he told her, taking her hand. "We find, yes?"  
  
"Oh, thank you!" she squealed, dabbing at her eyes with a kerchief. The soldier   
led her down to the fence. Two guards stopped them and addressed the soldier in their   
own language. Fear welled up in Fish again as she was certain they were going to arrest   
her. A few moments later, however, she was being led to the fence.  
  
She searched through the yard with her eyes, looking for a familiar face in the dark   
crowd. "Um…Uncle Ty?" she called out, wary of using the word "Master" after her   
encounter with Will.   
  
"Miss Espe?" She turned her head forty-five degrees to the right and saw a woman   
approaching the fence. She recognized the woman as one of the sorceresses who had   
stayed the night at the Master's house all those weeks ago, Miss Corin.  
  
"Miss Corin!" Fish held the fence with her fingers.  
  
"You fand yor uncal?" the soldier asked from beside her.  
  
"Um…This is a friend of my uncle's," she explained. "Can I have a few minutes?"  
  
The soldier smiled lecherously. "Shure. I be back soon." He started to walk off.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Corin asked the apprentice. "You shouldn't have   
come!"  
  
"Please, Miss Corin. I'm looking for Master Daventry," Fish whispered through   
the fence in response.  
  
Corin regarded her for a moment, then nodded. "I'll see if he's regained   
consciousness yet."  
  
"What do you mean!? What happened to him?!" Fish stopped the woman before   
she could leave.  
  
The old woman was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "The new   
territorial governor has been…speaking with him."  
  
"Wha…"  
  
"I'll be right back." The old woman walked quickly away while Fish waited   
anxiously. Almost five minutes later, Corin returned, supporting Daventry on her shoulder.   
His face was bruised and bloodied, and one of his hands was bandaged tightly.  
  
"Master Daventry?" Fish whispered. "What happened? You're hurt."  
  
He smiled tiredly at her. "I was introduced to nobility, Miss Espe."  
  
"Why haven't you healed him!?" she demanded of Corin.  
  
"Fish," Daventry said warningly. "It's not up to them. The governor has had   
wards chained to their ankles. No one in here can cast any magic anymore."  
  
"Master Daventry, I…"  
  
"Listen to me, Fish," he cut her off. "I want you to leave. Go back up into the   
mountains and make your way to Zephilia. You'll be safe there."  
  
She shook her head. "No, I can't leave you like this!"  
  
"You can and you will," he told her weakly. "This is what I was talking about   
before Fish. Down by Lina's Lake. Do you remember?"  
  
She nodded tearfully.   
  
"Good." Behind her, Fish could hear a car pulling up as Daventry continued   
talking to her. "The books I gave you. Are they safe?"  
  
"Yes, I hid them in…"  
  
"Quiet!" Fish shut her mouth in surprise. "Do not tell me where they are. I just   
wanted to make sure they were safe."  
  
"Yes, they are," she said quietly.   
  
"Good, good." He looked up at her. "Fish, take those books to Zephilia and hide   
them. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, but…"  
  
"Now go. I have another appointment with the governor." He chuckled fearfully.  
  
"Who is this governor?" Fish asked him.  
  
  
  
The car door opened and out stepped a shapely leg encased in a black high heel and   
stocking. This smooth gam was followed shortly after by the other as the territorial   
governor for Atlas stood up. The wind picked up, and she was forced to adjust her   
lavender hair behind her. The red band on her left arm featuring the black star of Seyruun   
clashed with her black Reichstaffel uniform.  
  
The young soldier who had opened the door for her saluted smartly, clicking his   
boot heels together. She gave him a tired salute of her own as the door on the other side of   
the car opened and allowed her traveling 'companion' to step out. She growled under her   
breath. She realized that Atlas was a gem in Seyruun's crown and had to be protected, but   
did the Reich Chancellor REALLY need to saddle her with a Gestapo political watchdog?  
  
"Well, isn't this nice?" the watchdog asked, adjusting his had before raising his   
leather riding crop towards the camp. "Quite posh, don't you think?" He smiled   
unctuously.   
  
"It's not supposed to be 'posh,'" she informed him, starting toward the main guard   
gate. "It's supposed to sap any hope or defiance out of them."  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the watchdog replied. "No need to be snappy, Colonel Gabriev. It   
was merely an aesthetic observation, not a criticism of your methods." He raised the   
riding crop in salute as he fell into step next to her.   
  
"Just remember not to interfere," she reminded him. "You're here to observe, not   
participate."  
  
The Gestapo officer smiled again. "Oh, I assure you," he said. "I'm looking   
forward to…observing you, Celeste. May I call you 'Celeste?'"  
  
Colonel Celeste Gabriev rolled her eyes. "You may certainly not," she told him.   
  
"Pity," he commented. He went silent as the guards at the gate saluted sharply and   
opened the gate for them.  
  
"You know, Celeste," he continued a moment later. "With your…unique gifts…you   
would be of quite some help to us."  
  
"I have no intention of joining the Gestapo," she told him flatly. "I don't enjoy   
killing Seyruun soldiers."  
  
The Gestapo man smiled. "Perhaps I was not referring to the Gestapo…"  
  
Before she could ask what exactly he was talking about, she looked up to find the   
object of her search, surprisingly, standing next to the fence and upright. After their last   
session, she was quite sure he'd be in bed recuperating. As she was wondering what could   
drag him out of bed, she saw a young, red haired woman speaking to him through the fence.  
  
The astral essence around the girl was thick with magical energy, magical energy   
that the Colonel, thanks to the unique gifts the Gestapo officer had just mentioned, could see   
like a phosphorescent flare.  
  
"Colonel?" the Gestapo officer asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
Gabriev raised an arm and pointed at the girl, who still hadn't noticed them.   
"ALARUM!!!" she screamed.  
  
  
  
Fish looked up to see a uniformed woman pointing at her and screaming. "Oh,   
crap! That's my cue!" She paused for a second and turned back to the Master. "Master,   
I…"  
  
"GO!" he shouted at her.   
  
Fish took off down the other side of the fence. Spotlights were already coming on,   
and a blaring alarm was going off. She could hear dogs barking behind her and soldiers   
yelling in the guttural Seyruun bastard tongue.   
  
Looking up ahead, she saw a section of outer fence that they hadn't put razor wire   
on. She raced towards it at top speed, her lungs burning for oxygen. Behind her she could   
hear a feminine voice shouting at the guards chasing her.  
  
"NO FIRING! I WANT HER ALIVE!"  
  
"Oh, freak'n wonderful!" Fish muttered. She jumped up and grabbed the chain link   
fence about halfway to the top. She started climbing just as the dogs reached her, barking   
up at her. She managed to pull herself up over the fence and fell on her butt on the other   
side, the dogs still barking and snapping at her from their side of the fence. She backed   
away on her hands and rushed to her feet.  
  
Soldiers were rushing from the gate towards her. She continued to run. If she   
could make it into the town itself, she could get away. The sorceress was thirty feet from   
the street when a car pulled up and stopped right in front of her. She stopped in her tracks.  
  
Will poked his head out the window. "Fish! C'mon!"  
  
"Will?!"  
  
"Hurry up!" he begged. Fish ran around to the passenger side and got in, closing   
the door as the car sped down the street. Behind them, guards shot their rifles after them   
futilely.  
  
  
  
Daventry and Corin looked up as the gate swung open and Gabriev entered. Before   
any of them could move, the RS officer stepped forward and brutally backhanded the   
sorcerer. Corin looked ready to leap at the woman, but a guard held her by the arms.  
  
"Would that redhead be the student you say you don't have?" Gabriev asked   
snidely. As she waited for an answer, another man in a black uniform entered and watched   
the scene with some amusement. "Huh?!" she screamed at Daventry.   
  
The sorcerer said nothing.  
  
"I'm rather bored with this song and dance," Gabriev told him. "So this will be the   
last time I ask. Who was that woman, and where can I find her?"  
  
The sorcerer looked her in the eye. "What woman?"  
  
Gabriev snarled and pulled her sidearm from its holster. She aimed down at the   
man and started to pull the trigger when suddenly a riding crop slapped her wrist, causing   
her to flinch. Her shot went wide, striking the dirt next to Daventry's foot. The RS officer   
turned angrily to the Gestapo officer.  
  
"Now, now," the Gestapo man oozed. "It wouldn't do to execute him before he's   
told us where he's hidden the Claire Bible manuscript, now would it?"  
  
"I told you," Gabriev hissed, "Not to interfere."  
  
The Gestapo officer smiled again. "Come now, my dear Celeste! Surely you're   
aware that in extreme cases of Reich security, Gestapo authority supercedes that of the   
Reichstaffel."  
  
Daventry watched as Gabriev glared hatefully at the Gestapo officer. "What is so   
damn special about that book?" she hissed acidly.  
  
The purple eyes of the Gestapo man narrowed into thin slits as he smiled.   
"That…" he said, "Is a secret."  
  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Slayers doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Kadokawa Shoten.  
  
I want to thank my prereaders, Fish, Will, Sethra, and Cav for all their help, and most   
especially Fish, our heroine in this fic. ^_^ Thanks, guys.  



	2. The Remnants of Hope

Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten.  
  
Slayers: Fatherland  
Chapter 2  
The Remnants of Hope  
  
  
Fish reached into the hole in the side of the tree in which she had hidden the   
Master's books.   
  
"Hurry up, Fish!" Will begged fearfully.  
  
"Will you relax?" Fish begged him. "They're not going to find us way out here!   
You lost them!"  
  
The paperboy hardly seemed convinced. He continued pacing around the small   
camp area Fish had set up. "So…You're going to Zephilia now, right?" he asked.  
  
She didn't say anything.  
  
"Well?" he demanded.  
  
"Look, Will," she said as she pulled the leather satchel out of the tree. "Stuff's   
fucked up right now. I know that. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to cut and run on   
Master Daventry."  
  
"Are you fucking insane?!" Will asked. "They've SEEN you, Fish! They know   
what you look like and who you are now! They've going to be coming after you now!"  
  
"Fine!" she spat. "Let 'em come and get me! All they know how to do is pick on   
old mages! Let 'em come and try fucking with me, and I'll…"  
  
Will took her by the arm and whirled her around. "And what? Huh? Make 'em   
snowcones?"  
  
She pulled roughly away. "I. Am. Not. Leaving. Him." She turned and went to   
her tent, gathering up her things.  
  
Will sighed in exasperation. "Okay! Fine! Say you do stay! Now what?"  
  
This made Fish pause.  
  
"You're one person, all alone, against the fucking REICH!"  
  
Fish grumbled as she packed her knapsack. "Glad to know where YOU stand…"  
  
"Don't you think that Mister Daventry told you to go to Zephilia for a REASON?!"   
Will went on. "That maybe he NEEDS you there?"  
  
"Shut up, Will." She rose to her feet and hefted the pack. Suddenly, she found   
herself turned around with Will's face an inch from her's.  
  
"What do you hope to accomplish all by yourself?" he asked angrily.  
  
"Something…ANYTHING!" she screamed, pulling away from him. "I'm a   
sorceress, dammit! I'm SUPPOSED to help people!"  
  
"How many people can you help when you're dead?!"  
  
Fish glared angrily at him. She didn't want to admit he had a point. If she did, he'd   
win, and she'd lose, and she really, really, REALLY hated losing…  
  
Especially on something like this…  
  
Will could see that she was starting to cave and pushed it. "Tell you what, you   
give me one plan, one IDEA of what you can do by staying…and I'll stay with you and   
help."  
  
Fish opened her mouth to retort, to tell Will all about the brilliant plan she had for   
busting Master Daventry and the other sorcerers out of that camp and driving the fascists   
out of Atlas….  
  
And suddenly realized that she didn't have a plan like that.  
  
"Come on, Fish," he whispered. "There's nothing we can do right now. But…But   
maybe we can do something in Zephilia…Tell people what's really going on over   
here…That's what Mister Daventry would WANT you to do…"  
  
Thunder roared overhead before Fish could reply. Will looked up and saw the   
clouds gathering. "Damn…Looks like a storm. We'd better find some shelter." He looked   
at her and tried to smile. "Everything's going to be okay, Fish. Really."  
  
"Yeah," she muttered as the first drops of rain fell. "Sure it is…"  
  
  
  
Two dragons bowed to Filia as she walked past them towards the Great Hall of   
Anghest. As she entered the mammoth hall, she was once again struck by its beauty and   
grandness. It was considered one of the greatest architectural dragon feats of the Fourth   
Age, and it never ceased to amaze her. It was easily ten times as tall as she was while in   
her dragon form with gold marble columns along the walls. Reliefs and sculptures of   
dragons lined the walls in between the columns, and at the very center of the hall was a   
fountain with a statue…  
  
Of her.  
  
The statue at the center of the fountain was that of a golden dragon priestess in   
human form, standing next to Lina Inverse during the final battle with Dark Star.  
  
But she never let it go to her head…  
  
On purpose, anyway…  
  
"Lady Filia."  
  
She turned, pulled from her reverie and focusing on the golden dragon who now   
approached. Lady Sethra was a younger dragon than she, but one more skilled at   
diplomacy; one of the reasons she had endorsed her bid to be made Lady of the Clan.  
  
"Lady Sethra," Filia began. "You asked to see me?"  
  
"Indeed, Filia. Let's walk, shall we?"  
  
The two blonde women began to walk around the wall of the hall, admiring the   
reliefs etched into the marble. "So…what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Filia asked.  
  
"The war between the humans," Sethra told her, turning to her. "Have you heard   
much?"  
  
"Not really," Filia admitted, "Then again, I hardly trouble myself with such things   
anymore."  
  
"I have been hearing very disturbing things from humans and sorcerers of some   
worth," Sethra continued as they walked. "Very frightening things."  
  
"Like what?" Filia asked.  
  
"Persecution of sorcerers trapped inside the Seyruun Reich. Other…things…"  
  
"So what does this have to do with me?"  
  
"We wish to investigate these claims," Sethra told her, turning to the older dragon.  
  
Filia blinked. "You want ME to…"  
  
"No, no, no! Certainly not!" Sethra told her. "However, we do need someone   
onsite to get a first hand view of what's going on."  
  
"So…Why are you talking to me?"  
  
The Lady of the Clan took a breath. Filia wasn't going to like this. "We are   
sending ValTerria."  
  
Filia's eyes narrowed. "You didn't just say that…"  
  
Sethra backed up a step. "Lady Filia, please understand that…"  
  
The older dragon took a step forward, her hand going to the mace riding her thigh…  
  
The Lady of the Clan continued backing away. "Lady Filia! We need to send   
someone and…"  
  
Filia's mace was whipping through the air but stopped dead an inch from Sethra's   
head as the dragon cried out…  
  
"HE CAME TO *ME* AND VOLUNTEERED!!!"  
  
The older dragon blinked. "Val chan?"  
  
  
  
It was pouring by the time Fish and Will entered the cave in their search of shelter   
from the storm. The cavern was a tight squeeze at first, but got larger the deeper down they   
went, and soon they were in a more comfortable area.   
  
Will held out his lantern, illuminating the area. "Well, at least it's dry," he   
commented. "We can wait here until the storm passes, then set out across the mountains to   
Zephilia."  
  
Fish wasn't paying attention, she was moving deeper into the cave.   
  
"Fish?"  
  
"Hey, Will, come check this out," Fish beckoned him. Will followed after her and   
held his lantern aloft, illuminating the chamber Fish had just found.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"This place looks like it was carved out."  
  
Will raised the light up towards the wall. Fish was right. The stone walls were   
smooth as if hewn over the course of years. Before their eyes was not a cavern, but a   
hallway.  
  
"Come on," Fish said, starting downward.   
  
"Um…I don't know, Fish. For all we know this is a military bunker or something   
we just walked into accidentally. Maybe we should just go back and….Fish?"  
  
Fish was ignoring him, walking down the corridor to the very end.The darkness   
seemed to move in on her as she walked, and soon the tiny lantern she held aloft did   
nothing to push it back. She grumbled and handed the lamp to Will.   
  
"Stand back a sec," she warned and held her hand up. "LIGHTING!"  
  
There was a bright flash of light. Will blinked and stood back, surprised for a   
moment. The flash subsided, leaving only a ball of pale white illumination that lit up the   
entire cavern.  
  
What they saw surprised them.  
  
It turns out that the hallway had ended and that they were now standing in a large   
room. The wall were lined with old barrels made of rotting wood. A ring of stones   
suggested that there was once a fire there. Along the wall to their left were some sort of   
rafts, a large crystal sitting atop each one for a total of four. Chests had been broken open   
and tossed aside as if in a hurry.  
  
"Woah," Will breathed. "Fish, have you ever seen this before?"  
  
She shook her head. "No. This is all Master Daventry's land, but I've never been   
here before." Stepping forward, the young mage started to look through the debris, trying   
to figure out what its purpose might have been.  
  
"Hey, check this out," Will called to her. Fish turned and approached him, holding   
the ball of illumination before her. Will was holding an old book, its pages ancient and   
yellow, but blank. "Who reads a blank book?" he asked.  
  
Fish took the book from him and examined it. Every single page was blank. Or   
was it. "Here, hold this," she said absently, tossing the ball of light to her friend. Will   
cried out in surprise and braced himself to be burned as the light ball struck him, but was   
surprised to find that it rested a few inches above his hands. "I think this book is   
enchanted," she commented.  
  
"Enchanted?"  
  
She nodded. "Master Daventry used to test my scrying spells by writing   
instructions down on a piece of paper, then enchanting it so that they couldn't be seen. It   
takes a white magic spell to undo. Gimme a sec…"  
  
"Sure," Will said, holding the light up so she could see.  
  
Fish whispered a few words and placed her hand on the face of the book. Unlike   
her other, more "original" spells, scrying was relatively easy as long as you were a white   
mage. She pulled her hand away and opened the book again. There were letters there in an   
older, but still readable dialect.  
  
"So what is it?" Will asked.  
  
Fish thumbed through the book, examining each page quickly. There were more   
than letters there, there were hand drawn illustrations. Some of the rafts, some of Lake   
Lina that included some kind of grid reference, and some were mathematical calculations.   
Other parts of the book, though, were dated. She found one and read aloud.  
  
"'I've decided to make this cave a type of base of operations,'" she read, "'I guess   
I'm just used to being alone. It's near the lake, and no one will bother me here as I work.'"   
She flipped ahead for a few pages and started again. "'I think I finally have the right   
calculations. Going on what Gourry, Amelia, and Sylphiel told me of the battle with   
Ancalagon, I have determined the exact place where Lina died. Sylphiel was carrying an   
antique timepiece on her when the explosion hit, and luckily for me, it stopped when the   
concussion hit. I have from that determined that Lina died at exactly two-thirteen PM, on   
the afternoon of the seventh of month of Elenda.'" She started flipping through the pages   
again.  
  
"What was he? An archaeologist or something?" Will asked. "He keeps talking   
about 'Lina.' Does he mean Lina Inverse?"  
  
"I don't think so," she murmured. "Listen to this." She started reading again.   
"'The Claire Bible manuscript said nothing about how well this will work on a raft, but I   
don't have much choice. The crater Lina made with the Dragon Slave…'" Fish looked up   
and arched an eyebrow. "Dragon Slave?" Will just shrugged. Fish went back to reading.   
"'…has since become a lake, and I find myself forced to attempt this spell under unknown   
conditions. Rezo would probably tell me that it's too much of a risk for such a tiny chance   
of reward, but I am determined to continue regardless. I owe her too much to turn back   
now.'"  
  
"Who's Rezo?" Will asked.  
  
"He was one of the Six Wise Men of the Third Age," Fish answered absently as   
she paged through the book. "He was the third, I think. Lina was the Sixth."  
  
"Oh."  
  
She stopped at another page and continued. "'I am almost ready to try, and just as I   
should have expected with my luck, something has happened. A man in black has been   
asking for me in Atlas City. I took it upon myself to investigate this man, thinking that   
perhaps it was a messenger from Amelia or Gourry. I saw the man in the street and quickly   
ducked out of sight. I know a Mazoku when I see one.'"  
  
"A MAZOKU?" Will asked incredulously. "This guy must have been high on   
something."  
  
Fish ignored him and continued reading. "'I know now that I was right about him.   
At first I thought that damn fruity priest might have sent him, however I now believe he   
works for Dynast. He's been asking not only about me, but about the Claire Bible   
manuscript containing the Hands of Time spell. I've memorized the spell itself, but I don't   
dare allow the manuscript into the Mazoku hands. Who knows what they might want it   
for.'"  
  
"What's a 'Hands of Time,' spell?" Will asked. Fish only shrugged and turned the   
page.  
  
"More dark men in Atlas today. I've been hiding here in my cave, preparing for the   
incantation. To make sure that I'm not caught with the manuscript, but can still view it if   
necessary, I have placed it in the protection of the owner of these lands, Tarus Cassius   
Daventry, a sorcerer of some repute.'"  
  
"Daventry? You mean like…"  
  
Fish nodded. "Must be one of Master Daventry's ancestors. His family has owned   
these lands for centuries." She turned back to the book and turned a few pages. "'They've   
found me,'" she read. "'I've holed myself up here and made sure they couldn't get in.   
There are too many outside to try making a run for it. It's times like these that I miss my   
chimera body. At least then I'd have a better chance in a stand-up fight. I pass the time   
waiting in this cave like a rat in a burrow, hoping that the vipers outside will leave me in   
peace, but if there's one thing my dealings with Xellos have taught me, it's that Mazoku   
are persistent…and damn annoying.'"  
  
"I like this guy," Will said with a smile.  
  
Fish turned the page. "'I can hear them outside…scratching at the walls. They   
don't dare phase through the walls right now. I might not be as powerful as I was at one   
time, but they know I can still take a few of them with me when I go. Even so, there must   
be another reason they're reluctant to attack. Then I remember that they were asking for the   
book. They're afraid it might be destroyed if they attack……..Suckers.'"  
  
The young mage had to smile at that. She turned the page.  
  
"'I tried to escape today, but there were too many of them. I had to retreat back into   
my rat's nest. I keep hoping that Amelia or Gourry will wonder about me and find me, but   
things aren't hopeful. I pass the time painting. There's nothing else to do. My water   
supply is running short…and I'm very tired.'"  
  
She bit her lip and turned the page again.  
  
"'They're too quiet. I hate that. It's like they're out there waiting for me to die so   
they can come in without a fight, but I know that can't be true either. They can't risk me   
burning their book before I dehydrate, so they have to leave me some hope, like dangling a   
string in front of a cat. They're planning something. I'm going to enchant this journal so   
that even if I die, they can't use it to find the manuscript. Fuck them. They get what they   
pay for. Despite all the trouble it's caused, I don't regret coming here and trying to bring   
her back. In all my years alone, she was the first person to ever call me 'friend' and   
actually mean it. The first person to ever really give a damn. I know that if the positions   
were reversed, if I had died and she had lived, she'd do the same for me. I've been ready   
for death my entire adult life. I don't fear it anymore. I just hope that maybe I'll see my   
friend again.'"  
  
Fish took a breath and almost nervously turned the page. The last entry had only   
two words…  
  
"'They're coming,'" she read. She closed the book slowly. "That's all there is."  
  
"What was he trying to do?" Will asked, still confused.  
  
"Maybe…resurrect her," she whispered. "I don't know." She blinked suddenly.   
Her hands went to the leather satchel.  
  
"What is it?" Will asked her.  
  
"He gave it to Master Daventry's family!" she hissed. "That means…" She pulled   
an old, leather-bound book out of the bag and started flipping through it. As if destined to   
do so, the book fell open to page with a header that read in large, bold letters…  
  
"'The Hands of Time.'"  
  
She read over the page eagerly as the light drifted from the page. Will was   
wandering off, apparently. She used the lantern. It was just enough light.  
  
"Fish, come take a look at this!"  
  
Looking up, the mage walked to the paperboy and gazed at the wall he was pointing   
to. "Oh my god," she whispered.  
  
The entire stone wall was a mural. A woman with red-gold hair stood before them,   
smiling as the wind whipped her cloak behind her. A ball of light or fire was in her hands.   
Crimson eyes danced and seemed to have a light of their own. It was one of the best pieces   
of art she had ever seen.  
  
She took the ball of light from Will again and pointed it at the wall to get a better   
look. In the bottom, right hand corner of the mural was a name. "'Z Greywords,'" she   
read.  
  
"Talented guy," Will remarked. She nodded and continued to stare at the picture.  
  
This was her idol. A woman who killed demons and made her own mark on the   
world. She was a heroine in every respect of the word. She fought for justice, for the   
downtrodden, for anyone who couldn't fight for themselves.  
  
She never abandoned her friends. And they never abandoned her.  
  
"Fish?"  
  
"Huh?" she asked.  
  
"I think the storm's stopped," Will told her. "We should leave while we can."  
  
Fish stared up at the image of her inspiration and took a breath.  
  
"I'm not leaving."  
  
  
  
High above the clouds, looking down as the terrain changed from blue ocean to   
green earth, an Ancient Dragon flew towards his destination. ValTerria, last of the Ancient   
Dragons, thought again on his mission, but found his thoughts turning more towards his   
mother. Filia had NOT been happy to hear that he had volunteered to gather information   
for the dragon clans concerning the Reich's conduct, but it was Val's decision, and it was   
something he felt he HAD to do.  
  
Filia, of course, had made it sound like the end of the world; ranting and wailing   
about how arrogant and misguided humans had turned over the years, and how cruel a   
place the continent now was. What she didn't realize was that Val felt dragons were a part   
of the problem, that things had gotten out of control because THEY had holed themselves   
up in their mountain lands instead of helping guide the younger races, instead of helping   
grow as they should.   
  
Besides, what could happen? The Reich wasn't foolish enough to goad the dragons   
into a fight…  
  
  
  
Celeste Gabriev took the communiqué from the Seyruun soldier and watched him   
salute smartly before turning on his heel and marching out. Reading over the brief, she   
arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Something wrong, my dear Celeste?" her Gestapo minder asked from his chair in   
front of her desk, a desk once belonging to the elected governor of Atlas.  
  
"Our coast watchers have seen a dragon flying in this direction," Celeste told him.  
  
"Gold or Black?" the Gestapo man asked, his smile suddenly gone.  
  
Celeste raised the paper and read, "'Target Dragon appears to be dark green in   
coloration. Estimated to be seventy-five feet from tip to tail long with a wingspan of sixty   
feet. Wings are black and feathered with…'"  
  
The Gestapo man smiled. "ValGaav," he whispered. "Finally out without his   
mommy…"  
  
"Something I should know?" Celeste asked.  
  
He smiled. "Only that it would be wise to scramble fighters and bring him down.   
After all, the Reich cannot simply allow dragons to violate its airspace without   
permission." He cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you agree?"  
  
The RS Colonel picked up the phone.  
  
  
  
Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey von Reider of the Reich's Luftwaffe admired the   
polish on the serrated combat knife as he ran the whetstone over it again. The blade itself   
was eight inches long and deadly looking. Reider had carried it for a few years. Ever   
since he had crashed his fighter into a forest where you could still find goblins. After just   
barely making it out, and after too many close calls, he had put away the tiny pocket   
survival knife issued to all Luftwaffe pilots and bought something he could actually fight   
with.   
  
Because you never know…  
  
He ran the whetstone over the sharp edge of the blade again as he contemplated the   
world. Atlas had fallen. Xoana was theirs. The Reich was acquiring a good bit of   
territory. Zephilia was giving them trouble, but there was no reason to think that they   
wouldn't fall eventually too. Now that they had an airbase in Atlas from which to launch   
bombing raids, it was only a matter of time.  
  
So why did he feel so cheap?  
  
He ran the stone over the edge again and paused. The answer was always just out   
of reach for him. Just when he thought he had it, something would come up, and it would   
disappear.  
  
Like now.  
  
The loud, whining alarm was going off all over the Atlas airbase. Pilots ran from   
the ready room and the lounge, climbing into their flight gear, sometimes even tripping over   
themselves.   
  
Reider looked at his knife and sighed. He had almost had it. Standing up, he   
placed the blade in the sheathe in his right boot and started for the flight line.  
  
  
  
"This is the stupidest idea you've ever come up with, Fish," Will told her   
seriously. "I mean…c'mon!"  
  
Standing near the entrance of the cave, Fish stomped her foot. "What?! Huh?! It's   
a good plan! Think about it, Will! I might not be that great of a sorceress; you were right   
about that! But SHE was the greatest that ever lived! She'd make short work of the   
Reich!"  
  
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THE SPELL WILL WORK!" Will screamed.  
  
"But it's worth a try!" Fish argued back. "That Greybeard guy or whatever his   
name was thought it would work! He's already done all the hard work for us, Will! All   
we have to do is actually perform the spell!"  
  
"You can't even make snowcones without fucking it up!" he shot back.  
  
"FUCK SNOWCONES! THIS IS REAL!"  
  
Will said nothing. "Fine, Fish! Fine! Do whatever the hell you want! I'm going to   
Zephilia!"  
  
"I can't do this by myself, Will! I need help setting it up!"  
  
"Tough!" he shouted.  
  
Fish growled. "You promised!"  
  
The paperboy stopped in his tracks. "What are you talking about?!"  
  
The mage marched up to him and put her face an inch from his. "You told me that if   
I could give you one idea, one plan, that you would stay and help!"  
  
"This isn't a plan!" he shouted. "It's a fantasy!" He turned to walk away.  
  
Fish bit her lip. She really did need his help. Those rafts were too heavy for her to   
lift alone, and the crystals had to be positioned just right…  
  
"YOU FUCKING CHICKENSHIT!" she screamed at him.  
  
He waved, but didn't look back as he walked away from the cave. Fish growled   
and came to a decision. Will was staying.   
  
End of fucking story.  
  
Will heard Fish screaming behind him and turned just in time to be struck full in the   
chest by a flying Fish. He grunted as his back hit the ground. He rolled over and pinned   
the sorceress to the floor.   
  
"What the fuck are you doing?!" he screamed.  
  
"You're staying here!" she shouted into his face.   
  
Will shook his head and stood up again. Before he could make it two steps, Fish   
had latched onto his leg and jerked. The paperboy fell forward and hit the ground again.   
The sorceress stood up and started dragging him back to the cave. Will kicked out with his   
legs and struck her in the thigh. Fish squealed and fell down again.  
  
"Knock it off!" he ordered. He tried turning again, but Fish attacked again,   
jumping onto his back and holding on for dear life. Will turned quickly, trying to fling the   
hysterical mage off of him.  
  
"You're not leaving, Will!" she hollered at him. "I need your help if this is going   
to work!"  
  
"GET OFF OF ME!!"  
  
Fish tightened her grip as Will reached back over his shoulder at her in an attempt   
to dislodge her. In the struggle, he stepped on a wet root and hit the ground. The two   
started rolling through the mud, each trying to get the better of the other.   
  
Will managed to get on top and held her by the shoulders in the mud. "I AM NOT   
STAYING HERE SO YOU CAN PLAY HERO!"  
  
He broke off as he saw the tears in Fish's eyes. She was sniffling and murmuring   
something.   
  
He blinked. "Please, Fish…Try to understand…"  
  
She continued to sniffle and murmur, a tear running down her muddy cheek.  
  
"I'd like to help, but it's just too dangerous."  
  
Fish wouldn't look at him. She was still murmuring softly.  
  
"Fish?"  
  
She looked up at him and placed a hand on his chest.  
  
"Fish?"  
  
The sorceress grinned. "LAFAS SHEED!!"  
  
Will's eyes went wide. "What the…" He tried to stand up but found every limb   
locked in place! He couldn't move! "What the hell did you do, Fish?!"  
  
"Ha ha on you-ou!" Fish sang. "I froze you in pla-ace!" She stuck her tongue out   
at him.  
  
"Well turn it off!"  
  
She smiled. "No, I think you're going to stay here until you get it in your head that   
you're going to help me."  
  
"Fish! Chant a counterspell! Now!"  
  
"No!" She stuck her tongue out again. "And you're going to stay that way until you   
agree to help me!"  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Then I guess you're stuck here!" she bragged.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked. "Well seeing that I can't move, how are YOU going to get out   
of here, huh?!"  
  
Fish blinked, and her eyes narrowed. "Dammit," she muttered.  
  
Thunder boomed overhead. Suddenly, it started raining again.  
  
"Wonderful," Will hissed as the deluge came down on them.  
  
  
  
Reider checked his small map again and then looked at the compass in his ME-545   
fighter. They were right on course, and if the information on the speed of the dragon was   
accurate, he and his three wingmen would be able to see it soon.  
  
"Dort ist es!"  
  
Reider looked up and saw a small pinprick of green against the blue sky.   
"Drache," he breathed. He had never actually engaged a dragon in aerial combat before,   
but the Luftwaffe had gone through training scenarios of it. Dragons may be as large as   
bombers, but were ten times as agile and could outperform several classes of fighters.   
Intelligence recommended engaging dragons only when a flight commander had at least a   
four to one advantage.  
  
Like now.  
  
"B Flight," Reider spoke into his radio, "Climb to Angels eight and wait for my   
signal. Herbert, you're with me."  
  
"Ja wohl!"  
  
Two of the fighters broke off and started to climb as Reider and his wingman eased   
around behind the serpent.  
  
  
  
Val's sharp ears heard the buzzing even as the fighters were splitting up to ambush   
him. The unmistakable sound of angry bees that accompanied a human flying machine.   
Turning his head, he saw two of them were coming up behind him. He tensed.   
  
(You ARE in what they perceive to be their territory,) he reminded himself. (Just   
relax. They're probably here to escort you away from their airspace.)  
  
This theory lasted only until the two fighters got within firing range. Val heard the   
sharp roar and saw the tiny flashes of light from the wings of human's flying machines and   
could feel the tiny lead bullets whizzing past him.   
  
The Ancient Dragon rolled onto his right side and made a sharp turn away from the   
hail of gunfire. He growled. Val had counted on the Reich not being happy to see him   
here, but he thought they would at least obey the terms of international law!   
  
Growling to himself, he made a decision. He wasn't here to start a war between   
the dragons and the Reich, so he would have to make a run for it.   
  
  
  
Reider saw the dragon change course and start back for the border. He clicked his   
radio. "B Flight, stand by to engage." He followed Val into a slow right turn and opened   
fire again. The flight leader wasn't sure why the dragon hadn't fired at them yet, but he   
wasn't about to wait around and find out while possibly losing good Seyruun pilots.  
  
He saw orange tracer rounds strike the dragons back dead on and, to his dismay,   
bounce off.  
  
Reider growled to himself and clicked his radio. "Herbert, did you see that?"  
  
"Ja. What should we do?"  
  
He watched as the dragon flapped his feathered wings and start to gain speed. If   
they didn't act, they'd lose it. "B Flight," he spoke into his radio. "Attack." A moment   
later, he added, "Schießen die flügel."  
  
"Say again, A Flight. Say again."  
  
Reider grit his teeth at B Flight's misunderstanding and bit angrily into the radio.   
"Shoot. The. WINGS!"  
  
"Ja wohl!"  
  
  
  
Val smiled as he felt the humans' bullets bounce off his scaled hide. They may   
have come a long way technologically, but there some things that you simply had to depend   
on Cepheid's gifts for. He heard another roar of gunfire and looked above to see two more   
fighters bearing down on him.   
  
He cried out in pain as he felt hot metal tear into his right wing. Looking at it, he   
saw feathers and blood exploding up and down the limb.   
  
They were shooting his wings!  
  
As realization of what they were doing dawned on him, there was another hail of   
gunfire from behind him as the original two fighters opened up again. A flash of pain in his   
left wing made him cry out. He started losing altitude. Flapping desperately, he tried to   
hold his height above the ground, but another burst of fire from the Seyruun fighters struck   
his wounded right wing again, and he started to fall, blood trailing from his limbs like   
smoke would from a burning plane.  
  
He saw the ground rush up at him and closed his eyes.  
  
  
  
Reider watched the dragon fall, but didn't smile. That cheap feeling was back. He   
adjusted the frequency of his radio and spoke into it.   
  
"Atlas Control, Flight Leader. Flame one. Repeat: Flame one."  
  
  
  
"Danke."  
  
Celeste hung up the phone and turned to her Gestapo minder.   
  
"The dragon's been shot down. I've sent three Panzers to retrieve it."  
  
"You should consider sending more," the Gestapo man advised her. "Assuming   
ValGaav survived his…landing…he may still be a very dangerous opponent."  
  
The RS officer circled around her desk, eyeing the purple-haired man suspiciously.   
"You seem to know a good deal about this particular dragon," she noted.   
  
He smiled. "The Gestapo makes it a point to know a lot of things," he countered.   
  
She grimaced slightly at the reminder. "Then I take it if he IS brought in alive, you   
will want him turned over to your custody?"  
  
To her surprise, the man faltered, something she had never seen him do. "Oh, I   
think the RS is more than capable of dealing with a lone dragon encroacher." He smiled   
and stood up, starting for the door.   
  
She smiled, sensing an advantage, and pushed it. "The Gestapo actually passing up   
an opportunity to interrogate someone? I think the world may be coming to an end."  
  
The Gestapo man stopped at the door. Not turning to her, he paused and said,  
  
"You may be more right than you think."  
  
Without another word, he left the Territorial Governor alone with her thoughts.  
  
  
  
"So, you ready to help yet?"  
  
Will growled at her. It was the only movement he was capable of thanks to her   
spell. The rain had been pouring down on him for forty-five minutes. He was cold, wet,   
angry, and knew he was beat. He had known Fish for a long time, and he knew she had   
know qualms about keeping him like this until either Cepheid came back or he died.  
  
"Your plan is stupid," he pointed out, unwilling to give up just yet.  
  
"Lots of people's plans are stupid!" she countered. "And you DID promise to   
help."  
  
"If you had a good plan!"  
  
"This IS a good plan!" She sighed. "Look, what's the harm in hanging around for   
another day and trying it? I'm not asking you to charge a Seyruun Panzer! I'm asking you   
to lift shit!"  
  
He took a breath. "And if I don't?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "How long can you go without food and water? I can always   
cast recovery on myself. You're shit out of luck."  
  
Will growled again. "I hate you," he whispered.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not too crazy about you either right now, buddy. But the fact of the   
matter is, I need you. Now are you in or out?"  
  
"Fine. I'll help you with this brain-dead scheme of yours, but after you're done,   
whether it works or not, I'm leaving. Got it?"  
  
"Fine," she said. "Now promise."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Sweet Cepheid, Fish."  
  
"Promise."  
  
"Fine! I promise to stick around and help you with your stupid-ass plan!"  
  
She smiled. "Great! See? That wasn't so hard!"  
  
"Good, now cast the damn counterspell."  
  
Fish smiled again. "Lafas Sheed doesn't have a counterspell."  
  
"Huh?!"  
  
She nodded. "Yup. It wears off after about an hour. I think we have about ten   
minutes left."  
  
He stared down at her in shock. "Are you telling me…this whole thing…was a   
fucking BLUFF?!"  
  
"You promised," she warned, already seeing where this was going.  
  
"Fine," he growled. "I promised, and I'll stay. But I still hate you."  
  
"Fine," she huffed.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Has it been ten minutes yet?" he asked.  
  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Thanks to Sethra chan, Fish chan, Meg chan, Prince, Will, and Cav. It's going to be   
several months before the next chapter of this fic comes out. I'm leaving for the Air Force   
in a week so no ficcage for awhile. Gomen. ^_^;;;  
  
Davner  



	3. The Summoning

Slayers belongs to Kadokawa Shoten and Central Park Media.  
  
Slayers: Fatherland  
Chapter 3  
The Summoning  
  
  
  
  
  
Will looked up at the clouds that were moving in their direction and bit his lip.   
"Hey, Fish," he called out to the young woman pushing a raft into the lake. "It looks like a   
storm is coming this way."  
  
Fish Espe succeeded in pushing the raft into the water and jumped on. "Screw it,"   
she told him casually. "The other four rafts are already in place. A storm might fuck things   
up. We're going to have to do it anyway."  
  
The paperboy looked hesitant. Out on a raft, at night, during a storm, on one of the   
largest lakes in the province…  
  
He sighed, knowing that the mage wouldn't take no for an answer, and stepped onto   
the raft with her.   
  
Thunder boomed overhead…Not a good sign…  
  
"It'll be fine!" Fish reassured him with a smile.  
  
Fish telling him something will be fine…Not a good sign AT ALL…  
  
The young mage handed him two oars and bade him to paddle. He growled and   
glared at her. "Why do I have to be the one to paddle?"  
  
Fish smiled sweetly. "Because you're the muscle, Will, and I have to go over this   
incantation one last time…so PADDLE!"  
  
Will dipped the oars into the water and started moving the raft forward. "Yeah, I   
got your stink'n paddles right here, princess," he muttered under his breath.  
  
His grumbling didn't bother her. She was busy reviewing the spell. Night was   
falling, and she was using a lighting spell to illuminate the Claire Bible manuscript she   
held.  
  
"So what are we going to do if this actually works?" Will asked her.  
  
Fish looked up suddenly and blinked. "Well…to be honest," she began, scratching   
the back of her head.  
  
"You have no idea, do you?" he asked her with narrowed eyes.  
  
She laughed nervously. "Well…I figured…you know…maybe SHE would have   
some ideas…"  
  
He stared at her for several seconds. Fish sweatdropped.   
  
"Just paddle," she finally said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled as the raft made its way to the center of the lake. "I'm   
paddl'n, I'm paddl'n…"  
  
  
  
Val was still incredibly groggy when he woke up, and still in quite a bit of pain as   
he opened his eyes. He had the sensation of movement, but wasn't sure how that was   
possible since he wasn't walking. He knew he was in his human form, he could tell by the   
feeling of his limbs. He tried to focus his eyes, but everything was blurry. His feet were   
dragging across the ground. Someone, no, two someones were pulling him.  
  
He tried to piece together what had happened. There were those Seyruunian   
fighters planes…They had shot at him…His wings were shredded…he fell…  
  
Where the hell was he?  
  
Before he could figure out this riddle, the two men dragging him suddenly let go,   
and fell hard to the marble floor with a grunt. He growled in pain and lay still, gathering   
his strength and trying to get his bearings.  
  
"Dieses ist der drache," he heard one man announce.  
  
"Wundervoll!" he heard a woman's voice exclaim. He looked up and could see a   
pair of black high heels in front of him. Looking farther up, a woman with purple hair and   
an RS uniform was smiling down at him.   
  
Colonel Gabriev knelt next to the humanoid serpent and admired him. There was a   
cut on his forehead, but he seemed none the worse for wear. "Welcome to Atlas City," she   
told him with a smile. "Jewel of the Reich. I hope you don't mind us insisting you stay for   
awhile and enjoy our hospitality. You see…we have a few questions for you."  
  
Val felt a ball of ice form in his stomach.   
  
The woman's smile broadened. "Yes," she said, running her fingers through his   
green hair. "This will be an experience you'll not soon forget…Herr ValGaav."  
  
  
  
The wind was starting to pick up now. Will sat at one corner of the large raft,   
watching as Fish did her thing. He wondered if she would really be able to pull this one   
off, and what it would cost HIM if she couldn't.   
  
Fish, meanwhile, was drawing a magic circle on the boards of the raft, which was   
more difficult than you'd think with the damn thing pitching from side to side like it was.   
She looked up from her work for a moment and out at the water. The crystals on the other   
four anchored rafts were glowing, each one exactly fifty feet away and in one of the four   
cardinal directions of the compass. So far so good.  
  
The raft bounced under her, almost causing her hand to jerk and nearly messing up   
the magic circle she was drawing. Luckily, her hand was steadier than that.  
  
"Hey, Fish!" she heard Will call from his own little corner of the raft. "It's getting   
nasty out!"  
  
She ignored him and finished the circle, adding in the modifications outlined in   
Zelgadis Greywords' journal; an image of the night sky's constellations as they would have   
appeared when Lina died. Sighing with relief, she gave herself a second to examine her   
surroundings. It was almost pitch black outside now, and the wind was howling. Droplets   
of rain were starting to fall. Will was right. If there had been anyway for them to back out   
now and postpone this without a risk to the crystals, she would have done it, but there   
wasn't.  
  
It was now or never.  
  
She tossed Will the ball of light she had been using for illumination and sat just   
outside the circle. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hands above her head. She took   
one last second to call out to Will.  
  
"Things might get a little weird, Will. Don't worry when it does."  
  
"Yeah, right," she could hear him mutter.  
  
She put it out of her mind and began to chant. "Floating spirits, drifting through the   
flow of time," she began. "I call upon your power to summon one whose feet fell upon this   
place one thousand years ago!"  
  
Will turned in surprise as the crystal floating behind him began to spark and send a   
streamer of light up into the air. It bent and fell upon the magic circle.  
  
"In the name of the Keepers of Time!" Fish called out as another streamer of light   
struck the circle, "I call upon both the Darkness Beyond Twilight and the Brilliance   
Beyond the Dawn!"  
  
A third streamer, this one from the crystal floating north of them, struck the circle.   
  
"In thy great name!" Fish cried out, feeling the overwhelming power flowing so   
close to her as the spell strengthened. "I command that those who keep time's flow read   
this holy circle! And bring forth the one I summon from her place in her one second before   
death!"  
  
The crystal from the east lashed out with its own streamer. The wind was howling   
around them. The raft rocked up and down as the rain fell in torrents on top of them…  
  
Fish opened her eyes and touched the circle with her hands. "I SUMMON THEE,   
LINA INVERSE!!!"  
  
The circle exploded with a pillar of light that shot high into the night sky!  
  
  
  
Hellfire leapt from Lina's hands just as Ancalagon fired his own laser breath spell.   
The two balls of energy struck one another dead on and began to coalesce into a sphere of   
pure magical energy. The redhead stared, awestruck by the sight. A complete fusion of   
power and purely on ACCIDENT!  
  
She watched as the sphere began to break down. This was it. She braced herself   
for what she knew was coming…  
  
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, four crystals appeared around her, each joined to   
the others by a beam of red light.  
  
"What the…"  
  
The sphere exploded!  
  
The crystals flashed with light!  
  
Then nothing.  
  
  
  
There was a flash of light, and suddenly, a petite, red headed girl was lying   
unconscious in the middle of the magic circle.  
  
Fish blinked. "Holy shit! It worked!" she exclaimed. So overjoyed was the mage,   
that she jumped to her feet, spun around, and made like she was spiking a football. "I'M   
NUMBER ONE! I'M NUMBER ONE! I'M NU…"  
  
She broke off as sudden wave struck their raft. The mage cried out and fell to the   
deck. Will screamed out behind her as the entire craft started to flip over.   
  
"OH SHIT!!" Fish cried out. "LINA!" She turned and saw the still unconscious   
sorceress roll off the raft and into the pitch black lake below. Without missing a beat, Fish   
grit her teeth and dived after her! She hit the cold water and opened her eyes, searching for   
a hint of red hair. Seeing something glinting in the light of a flash of lightning, she swam   
towards it. Her lungs were burning for air.   
  
She lost sight of whatever it was and started looking around again. It was so dark!   
So dark that she couldn't even tell which way was up anymore! She started to panic as her   
lungs screamed for oxygen.   
  
Suddenly, she felt something. Something had snagged the back of her dress and was   
pulling her. Her head broke the surface of the water, and she coughed loudly. Looking up,   
she saw Will's face barely illuminated by another flash of lightning. He was kneeling on   
their overturned raft.   
  
"I got you!" he said, almost in surprise. "Just hang on!" He started to pull her   
aboard as she continued to cough and sputter. Finally, she was on the wooden planks,   
hacking lake water. "L…Lina?!" she asked.  
  
Will looked down at her and shook his head. "I didn't see her."  
  
Fish looked out at the lake as rain continued to crash down on them. She couldn't   
see more than two feet ahead of her. She had lost her. Their one best chance….  
  
"Oh….FUCK!!!" she screamed at the sky.  
  
  
  
Birds.  
  
The first thing she heard was birds. Then the sound of water.   
  
Then more sounds of water as she threw up about a quart of the stuff.  
  
Breathing heavily, the redhead slowly opened her crimson eyes as she lay on the   
beach. An osprey sitting in a nearby tree stared at her, squawked, and flew off after   
examining her for a moment.   
  
"G…Gourry?" she whispered. Lifting her head up out of the mud, she squinted   
against the light of the dawn and looked around. How did she get near a lake? Where was   
she? "Gourry?" she called out again, a little louder.  
  
No answer.   
  
She stood up and took a look at her reflection in the surface of the lake. "You're a   
total mess, Lina," she told herself. She cupped some water in her hands and splashed off   
her face before making an effort to straighten her hair out. It was more to give her some   
time to think rather than an actual act of vanity.   
  
"I was fighting that dragon," she mused. "Then a Dragon Slave…then….here…"   
She looked out at the lake. "BUT WHERE THE HELL IS HERE?!" she screamed at the   
water.  
  
"HERE!" her echo replied.  
  
"Here!"  
  
"here…"  
  
She growled and scratched her head. Her clothes were soaked, she was hungry,   
sore, and her friends were nowhere in sight.   
  
"Hey, Gourry!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "GOURRY!!"   
She faced the woods on the other side of her. "AMELIA!!! SYLPHIEL!! ZEL!!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Her eye twitched. "Figures," she muttered. "A little explosion and they all get   
scared as little rabbits and run away…" She balled her hand into a fist. "And when I get   
my hands on that yogurt brain, I'll…" She took a breath and tried to calm down. "Take it   
easy, Lina," she told herself. "You're disoriented. You have no idea what happened. Just   
take a breath and relax." She chuckled. "You don't want to end up doing something crazy   
like talking to yourself!"   
  
She blinked.  
  
"Shut up," she ordered herself.  
  
Sighing, she sat down and looked out at the lake.  
  
  
  
"He's very resistant to interrogation," the RS officer told Celeste from his chair   
across the desk from her. "Of course, dragon physiology is different, and so many of the   
key areas I would usually concentrate on may not be working. This is my first time   
interrogating a dragon."  
  
She nodded and looked over the notes. "He seemed to respond well to fire," she   
noted, glancing over a photograph of the subject, the interrogator, and a blow-torch.   
  
"Ja, but only initially. He seems to have resigned himself to the pain. If I did not   
know better, I would swear that he has experienced worse in his life. A severe trauma of   
some sort."  
  
"He has, but that's beside the point," the Gestapo minder commented from where   
he was standing near the window. "I would suggest concentrating on the psychological,"   
he suggested without turning. "Ideas of betrayal will work well. And when you torture   
him, pierce his skin…..and whatever you do it with, make sure it's gold in coloration."  
  
The interrogator looked to Celeste for approval, who nodded once. Standing up, he   
saluted sharply, clicking his boot heels together. He turned and walked out the door to   
continue his work.  
  
"Once again," Celeste commented as the door closed, "I can't help but feel you   
know this dragon." She looked at the Gestapo officer, expecting an answer.  
  
"You find it surprising that an officer in the Reich's Gestapo would be well briefed   
on well-known dragons?"  
  
"I find it surprising that despite your obvious familiarity with the prisoner, you still   
refuse to interrogate him yourself." She stood up and faced him. "Why?"  
  
The purple-haired Gestapo agent turned and smiled in that annoying way he had.   
"Das ist…" he began slowly, trailing off.  
  
"Das ist?" she prompted.  
  
He grinned and held a finger up. "…ein geheimnis!"  
  
She growled. "I'm growing rather tired of your games, Herr Oberst," she warned.   
"And your 'secrets.'"  
  
"Yes, you DO seem to have something of a short temper," he noted. She shook her   
head and sighed. Looking up, she saw that he was right in front of her now. "Perhaps we   
should talk," he suggested. "Over dinner."  
  
She grimaced. "I have better things to do with my time than listen to a Gestapo man   
bluster."  
  
"Me? Bluster?" he asked innocently. "I merely wanted to discuss a proposition   
with you. Nothing more nefarious than that."  
  
"And I have better things to do than entertain one of your propositions," she hissed.   
"You're dismissed," she announced.  
  
He smiled unctuously. "Ja wohl, Fraulein Oberst." He saluted and walked   
casually out of the office.   
  
"Herr Xellos," she called out. He stopped and turned to her. "I hope you are   
aware that if you make any similar…'propositions'…to anyone in my command…I   
SHALL hear of it."  
  
The violet-eyed man grinned. "Of course! But I have no interest in them…Only   
you." With that, he turned and walked away.  
  
  
  
Fish took the hot tea gratefully and drank the warm liquid in one swallow, shivering   
beneath the blanket Will had brought for her as she recuperated in their cave hideout. "Any   
sign of her?" she asked haltingly.  
  
He shook his head."I looked up and down the shore, but I couldn't find the   
body."  
  
She glared angrily at him. "We're not looking for her BODY, you dumb-shit!" she   
hollered. "She's alive! She has to be…"  
  
"Yeah, well alive or not, I didn't find her," Will replied with a scowl.  
  
Fish turned away and continued to shiver. "You gotta keep looking, Will," she told   
him in a whisper.   
  
"Fish…"  
  
"Please?" she begged, looking at him. For the first time since they met, she was   
begging him for something rather than demanding or ordering.  
  
He sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll go check the shore again…"  
  
"Thank you, Will." She turned away from him again.  
  
Will smiled gently. "You just get better, okay?" he told her. Standing up, he   
walked out of the cave and back towards the lake.  
  
Fish didn't watch him go. Instead, she looked up at the mural on the wall opposite   
of her; the painting of Lina Zelgadis Greywords had left for them. "Guess I fucked up, huh,   
Z?" she asked it.   
  
The painting said nothing.  
  
"Yeah? Well I'm going to find her," she told it. "Just wait. I'll find her. She's   
gotta be somewhere…"  
  
  
  
Lina blinked in absolute shock when she passed the main gates and started into the   
city she had found. Last she had checked, they were near Atlas, but this place…This city   
was at least ten times the size of Atlas City. With that and the lake, she had an idea of what   
had happened…  
  
She sat on a park bench near a fountain and mused on her situation.   
  
"Somehow," she said out loud, "The power released from my Dragon Slave and   
Ancalagon's Laser Breath launched me through the astral plane to end up in another part of   
the world." Looking up, she saw one of those horse-less carriages drive by the park. "But   
I've never seen some of the things they have here." Her one experience with anything like   
cars was Jiras' orihalcon tank, but these things were completely different.  
  
"Not only that," she whispered, "But these people dress differently than anyone   
I've ever seen." She took a breath and looked up at the sky. "Where ever I am, I'm pretty   
damn far from home."  
  
She hopped to her feet and clenched her fists in front of her.   
  
"And the first thing one should do when one finds themselves lost in a foreign land   
is to CHECK OUT THE NATIVE SPECIALTY FOODS!!!"  
  
There was a puff of smoke on her shoulder, and suddenly, a chibi version of Filia   
was standing there. "Miss Lina! What about your friends?! They'll be worried about   
you!"  
  
Lina shrugged. "If I'm as far from home as I think I am, delaying long enough to get   
something to eat isn't going to make them worry any less." She blinked. "Hey… Aren't   
you in the wrong story?"  
  
Chibi Filia looked nervously from side to side then said, "Gottago!" With a puff of   
smoke, she was gone.  
  
"Figures," Lina mumbled. "Well…Here I go!"   
  
With that, Lina took off running for the first available restaurant.   
  
  
  
Geoffrey von Reider ran the whetstone up his knife's edge slowly. He was in a   
contemplative mood today, and so the other pilots in the rec room seemed willing to   
remain quiet. They knew their squadron commander took his thoughts very seriously. They   
also knew that Colonel Reider was his most dangerous when he was quiet. He always got   
quiet right before he laid into a new pilot for some infraction. He always got quiet right   
before he was about to tell his pilots they were going on a tough mission. And he was   
always quiet right before he flamed a Zephilian fighter…  
  
Of course, the bomber jocks just in from Seyruun didn't know this, and Reider's   
contemplative state didn't seem to keep them from making a ruckus as they waltzed into the   
rec room as if they owned it.  
  
Reider paused for a moment and tried to block out the ruckus. They were nothing   
but kids. He continued sharpening his combat knife.   
  
"So then, these two P-20's dive in on our ship and start tearing the fuck out of us,"   
one of the kids was explaining to a crewman from another bomber. "Our top gunner flamed   
one but actually melted the barrels on his guns in the process." He helped himself to a beer   
from behind the bar and opened it. "Of course, our escort was out on their break or   
something. Practically had to fly the fucking mission ourselves. Fucking fighter prop-  
jocks…"  
  
A few of the fighter pilots in Reider's squadron tensed nearby.   
  
"Just goes to show you," the bomber crewman said, "Fighter pilots make movies.   
Bomber pilots make history. We do all the work, they get all the glory."  
  
"Hey, FREUND," one of Reider's pilot's began, stressing the "friend," part of his   
hail. "Just because our birds don't have the fuel to follow you guys all over the world,   
doesn't m…"  
  
The bomber man rolled his eyes. "Oh, save it. You guys escort us right to the   
tough stuff, then bail. We were flying precision runs over Xoana, getting the shit kicked out   
of us while our escorts were taking a powder upstairs, so don't give me that shit. You   
fighter jocks just don't give a shit as long as you get your pretty leather jackets and your   
girls…"  
  
"You all sound the same to me," Reider suddenly commented. The other pilots,   
fighter and bomber, looked up suddenly.  
  
"Sorry, Herr Oberst," the fighter pilot said sheepishly. "I was just…"  
  
Reider stuck his knife in the tabletop and stood up, facing the bomber pilot. "You   
wanna know what you ALL sound like?" he asked in a hiss. "Huh? You know what a   
bomber pilot and a fighter pilot BOTH sound like when they're bird is going down in   
flames?" The bomber crewman swallowed nervously, not realizing a full Colonel was   
going to get involved in his little spat.  
  
"You wanna know what you sound like?" Reider asked. He leaned over until his   
lips were near the bomber crewman's ear. "Kkkkssssssskkkkkkskkkkskksksksskkk." The   
young crewman blinked. "That's the sound you hear, son," Reider continued quietly.   
"When you're watching your buddy's bird go down on fire and you're shouting to him on   
the radio, asking if he's okay, if he's there, if he's ALIVE! That's all you hear.   
Ksssskskskskskskskskskssskkk." He paused for a moment before continuing. "And that's   
all ANY pilot sounds like while you watch them go down and hit the ground."  
  
The crewman cleared his throat nervously as Reider stepped back.   
  
"Let me tell you something, son. I've flown more missions than a calendar has   
dates. I've seen snot-nosed kids like you go down over territory I'd describe as Hell! I   
don't care what mission you're on, or what the hell you fly or why, but as long as you wear   
a uniform like that, believe me…I. Give. A SHIT!"  
  
He felt someone rest a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his executive officer   
standing there. "Come on, Geoff, stop scaring the new meat," he said with a smile. Reider   
blinked and looked back to see that the bomberman was rather pale now.  
  
"Yeah, sure…"  
  
He stepped back and let the pilot guide him out the rec room door. The Colonel   
couldn't notice how quiet the room had become.  
  
"Cepheid's left nut, Geoff!" his exec and friend, Major Erick "Talon" Taloon   
laughed. "You scared the piss out of that kid!"  
  
"Yeah, maybe I was a little hard…"  
  
"Bah! The boy deserved it! Fuck him! I just think you were a BIT too intense   
about the whole thing…"  
  
Reider grumbled a little.  
  
"Hey…Hey!" Taloon snapped, giving his friend a light slap on the face. "You   
know, if you keep running yourself like this, you're going to end up taking it into the air vith   
you." He smiled. "I know…" The Exec looked from side to side as if in some   
conspiracy. "Vhat do you say ve go out into this little hamlet ve've taken and find   
ourselves some of those redheaded Atlan FRAULEINS ve've heard so much about?"  
  
Reider looked at him in disbelief. "What?!"  
  
"I'm serious, Geoff!" the blonde pilot continued. "I've heard these Atlan vomen   
are so hot, they're descended from the Fire Dragon King! Spoils of var, my friend! Let's   
go find a place, get a drink, meet some nice, young, frauleins…" He rubbed his hands in   
excitement.  
  
"I don't know, Talon," Reider told him.  
  
"Of course you don't!" Taloon told him with a slap on the back. "That's vhy your   
good freund, Talon, is here to make these decisions for you! Now get your shit! Ve've got   
frauleins to conquer!" he sang as he dashed for the door.  
  
Reider sweatdropped. "Why does this sound like a bad idea?"  
  
  
  
"I'll have this…and this….and this…and this…and this and this and this and this   
andthisandthisandthisandthisandthisANDTHISANDTHISANDTHISANDTHISAND…Oh,   
why don't you just send me everything on these two sides of the menu in triple portions?!"   
Lina ordered, putting her menu down and flashing a smile at the waiter.  
  
The waiter smiled and placed a small tray with a tin foil cover in front of her.   
"Bon apetite!"  
  
Lina looked down at the tray for several seconds, then up at the waiter, then back   
down at her tray before finally catching the restaurant employee in her icy stare.  
  
"I don't think you heard me," she said quietly, her eyes narrowing. "I ordered   
food…"  
  
"I apologize, Miss, but with the rationing system in place, we're only allowed to   
serve one tray of food to each customer." He bowed in apology.  
  
Lina opened the foil cover of the tray and sniffed her plate experimentally. "This   
stuff smells like sh…"  
  
Before she could finish her comparison, the front door burst in, and a blonde man in   
a strange, grey uniform appeared with a bottle in his hand. "GUTEN ADEN!" he cried.   
Another man in a similar uniform was standing behind him, sighing. "In the name of the   
Reich Chancellor and the Reich Marshall of the Luftwaffe, Reich Marshal Hermann   
Ziegler, myself and my associate here have come to this establishment to recruit pilots for   
the Reich!"   
  
Lina blinked at them.  
  
The blond man saw two pretty waitresses nearby and smiled at them. "You two   
like young, beautiful, patriotic vomen," he told them. "Ever consider being my vingman?"  
  
The sorceress rolled her eyes at the display. "Jeez, even on the other side of the   
world the pick-up lines are lame…"  
  
Apparently, the waitresses felt the same way, because the sound of two slaps were   
still echoing in the restaurant as Lina stood up. She tossed a few gold coins on the table to   
pay for her…meal…and started for the door. Pausing suddenly, she turned and saw   
several people quickly look away. They had been staring at her. She knew it…  
  
Blinking, she shrugged it off and turned back to the door. However, she now found   
that same uniformed man standing before her.   
  
"Vhat about you, cupcake?" he asked with a smile. "Care to go for a ride in the   
sky vith me?"  
  
She rolled her eyes and started to push past him, but he rested a hand on her   
shoulder. Lina stopped, her eyebrow twitching.  
  
"Awwww!" he cooed. "Come on, liebchen! I'll show you my cockpit…"  
  
"Talon," Reider warned with a touch of uncertainty.  
  
Taloon turned to him and smiled. Reider could see the redhead shaking in rage   
behind him and watched her slowly turn towards the pilot's back. "What's she going to   
do?" Taloon asked in their own language. "Hit me?"   
  
He turned back to the sorceress just in time for his face to meet her fist in a rather   
spectacular introduction. The Luftwaffe pilot went flying across the room.   
  
Reider blinked as Taloon hit the wall and slid down to the floor.   
  
"Another time, 'liebchen!'" Lina said with a fake smile. The other girls in the café   
applauded loudly.  
  
Lina bowed theatrically to them and walked out the door. Reider knelt next to his   
friend and started to help him up. "Talon? Are you all right?"  
  
The blond man sat up with a wince. He could see little Seyruunian fighters flying   
around his head, manned by tiny Lina's who were flashing the victory sign from inside the   
cockpits. "Vhat a voman…"  
  
  
  
Lina stepped outside and walked down the street. She looked around at the   
buildings around her and blinked. As different as it all was, there was something very   
familiar about this city. Something about the layout…  
  
Even the people were familiar, though she hadn't seen any of them before. She   
passed a city square and blinked as a memory of another square flashed through her mind.  
  
"Huh?" she asked herself. She ran forward to the center of the square and looked   
up at the monument in the center. She didn't recognize the statue itself, but the platform it   
stood on struck her as familiar. Looking around again, it started to actually bother her.   
  
A brick building stuck in her gaze for several moments until she actually ran out of   
the square and right up to its corner. She looked it over critically. Seeing a man standing   
on its porch, she rushed over to him.  
  
"Hey! Old man!" The man looked down at her and arched an eyebrow.   
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"What's the address of this place?!" she asked.  
  
"Two-fourteen Park Lane," he told her.  
  
She took a step back. Recovering, she pointed at the park she had just left. "And   
that?!"  
  
"That's Liberty Park, dear," he told her with a smile. "Are you from out of town?   
Are you lost?"  
  
Lina blinked and stood back. "I…I don't know," she whispered. She looked up,   
determination on her face. "But I know how to find out!" With that, she started running   
down the street.  
  
She passed several ancient buildings, buildings she recognized as being built only   
a few months ago! Yet they looked almost a millenium old!   
  
Panting, she passed a temple.  
  
"The Rayder Memorial Temple," she gasped as she ran by. She turned a corner   
and continued running. "I'm on Fifth Street!" she exclaimed. A street sign came into   
view, confirming her declaration. "That means if I turn here…" She turned down a side   
street and continued to run. "And a left here…"  
  
She ran faster, the truth right on her heels.   
  
"It should be right around this corner," she breathed as she ran. The corner was   
coming up. Suspecting what was coming, she turned it…  
  
And stood stock still in awe…  
  
"My….God…" she whispered at the sight. The sorceress looked down at her feet   
in shock. "I'm back," came the haunted whisper. "I'm home…All this time I was…" She   
paused and fell to her knees as she said. "We finally…REALLY did it…"  
  
Her fist struck the concrete in front of her. "YOU MANIACS!!!" she screamed.   
"YOU CLOSED IT DOWN!!! GOD….DAMN YOU! GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO   
HELL!!!"  
  
Standing nearby, a young woman saw the oddly-dressed redhead having a fit and   
looked up at the source of her distress.  
  
Sitting before them was a building with two signs on it. One read "All You Can   
Eat for a Silver Piece Steak Buffet!"  
  
The other read, "Condemned."  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Okay, I know I said last chapter that it would be the last, but I had already done so much of   
this one that I decided the best thing to do would be to finish it up and post it before I left,   
so I busted my hump and cleaned it up. ^_^  
  
That's it. See you in a few months. ^_^  



End file.
